Colette Lara Cambey, her parents and her grandmother participate in the burial of her placenta on her first birthday, with commentary by Colette. The super 8 sound film was shot by Andrea DeGette, a filmmaker based in Hillsborough, North Carolina.

Also available with commentary by Colette Lara Cambey and Andrea DeGette on the DVD "Living Room Cinema: Films From Home Movie Day, Vol. I".


This movie is part of the collection: Home Movies

Director: The Cambey/DeGette Family
Producer: Andrea DeGette, made available through Home Movie Day
Production Company: Center for Home Movies
Sponsor: Home Movie Day
Audio/Visual: sound, color
Language: English
Keywords: Placenta Burial; Cambey; DeGette; Home Movies; Home Movie Day; HMD;
Contact Information: For more information about the DVD, go to http://www.livingroomcinemadvd.com or e-mail film@homemovieday.com For more information about Home Movie Day visit www.homemovieday.com

Creative Commons license: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States

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Reviewer: RadioTinnitus - - August 3, 2010
Subject: good
Judging by the title, I thought this was going to be about a rock band. Anyhow, I liked it the movie.

Reviewer: RoboReview - - August 3, 2010
Subject: A star is afterborn?
Sorry about the title, couldn't resist.

Wondering now how many therapy sessions poor Collette will need not to have to think about this anymore.

Also wondering how many stem cells they could have harvested off that thing instead of using it as fertilizer.

I hear Dreamworks has optioned a 3D animated version with Lindsay Lohan as the voice of the afterbirth. She has a big vocal number, "No Womb at the Inn," just before the burial scene.

Seriously, it's a unique slice of life you could only find in the Archive.

Reviewer: blackbox_jones - - May 1, 2009
Subject: I like the narration.
What the hell, it's a placenta burial. It's not the weirdest or ghastliest thing I've ever heard of. (Consider, for example, circumcision.) Apparently it's been practiced in several primitive cultures, though it may have been Americans who introduced the placenta burial home movie.

If you can accept the basic premise, the nice surprise is Collette's narration, which is cute, unaffected, and sometimes pretty funny. The fact that Collete frankly calls the placenta "disgusting" (I agree) ameliorates the feeling of having drifted into some crazy hippie hell.

If you only see one placenta burial home movie this year... well, let's face it, your choices are limited, it'll probably have to be this one.

Reviewer: Meatpies - - April 28, 2009
Subject: Um...
a bunch of things come to mind...

1. It's interesting what is commonplace in some cultures.

2. Okay, so it's frozen until the time comes. My luck, I'd get it mixed up with other stuff in the freezer and defrost it for dinner thinking it was something else wrapped in foil.

3. What was going on in my brain to see this title and think, "Okay, I have to see what this is about."?

Reviewer: cosmicola - - April 23, 2009
Subject: WTF Indeed
Ugh.

Reviewer: grackle - - April 22, 2009
Subject: Now we know
"Placenta burial is common among even more cultures. In a number of places, such as Kenya, Malaysia, and Nigeria, the placenta is considered the baby's twin, or thought to have its own spirit, and is buried with the appropriate rites. In Mexico, Nepal, and New Zealand, the placenta is honored as the companion or friend of the baby, and is placed in the earth reverently, but is not thought to have a spirit of its own. Specific burial rites vary by culture, and in some, the placenta will be placed high up, such as in a tree, instead of being buried in the ground. In modern Western culture, placenta burial is usually highly personal. It may be based of off the rituals of other cultures, or on the perception of those rituals, but will probably be altered depending on the individual's preference. It can be planted at the base of a tree or bush, for instance. Some mothers choose to get a special plant for each placenta they bury. Generally, if any time needs to elapse between the birth and the burial of the placenta, it is frozen until the time comes. Since the placenta is very nourishing, it will help the plant above it grow as it decomposes, returning to the earth. It may also be placed in its own container and buried with a marker."

Reviewer: Spuzz - - July 4, 2008
Subject: WTF?
Downright odd and somewhat creepy home movie about a family burying their kid's placenta. WHY? who knows. What's more, it's narrated by the kid who was born with it! Eeps! This was just a wee bit creepy.

Credits

Film Transfers by Colorlab, Inc.
Video Editing by Shawn Lind